This game needs to be less item based than UO is..

Stratics Veteran

One of the many turn-offs of UO that people had was when Age of Shadows was introduced, it made the game waaay more depended upon gear in PVP and PVE as well, the game where skilled mattered the most was no more, inflation ran rampant, you had to spend a good 200 million on a suit in order to compete in PVP.. Granted, they have reversed these effects in UO by introducing imbuing, it makes all the best items in the game craftable again for a cheaper price, I now spend easily 70% less than what I did in the past, it put UO back on a even playing field, which I am against as well..

All the best items should be crafted by players.. But unlike UO, there shouldn't be any random item properties, this to me was the biggest mistake of AoS.. So an example would be your average MMORPG when it comes to items, however, a sword should still be just a sword.. I am all for the item properties that AoS introduced, but a weapon should still be just a weapon and there should be different versions of that weapon that you can craft through different metals and materials, but the item properties wouldn't be "random" I think a system where the best items are crafted by the players is a must, but I also feel there could be 'named' items as well, like how we had artifacts and what not introduced into UO..

Perhaps a system similar to the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is what I would like to see, I don't know.. I rather enjoyed crafting in the game though..

Stratics VeteranAlumniStratics Legend

Until we know what actually what type of game and how its done there will be lots of hopes and dreams crushed along the way. I do agree and hope they go in the direction that its ok to make items in a game but not over powering that takes away from the true player skills/levels. I'd rather an item to be more aesthetic for a character.

As long as it is viable for crafters( if they will have such a thing in the game) that makes items that the community needs on a regular basis which also helps promote community interaction.

I agree with Velvathos that the best items should be player-crafted; however, I could envision some of those materials for the highest-tier craftables being rare drops that would require a high level of risk to obtain. You know... like a necklace made from the ears of 20 murderers, or a sword crafted from metal forged with a drop of wisp tears or something.

I agree with Velvathos that the best items should be player-crafted; however, I could envision some of those materials for the highest-tier craftables being rare drops that would require a high level of risk to obtain. You know... like a necklace made from the ears of 20 murderers, or a sword crafted from metal forged with a drop of wisp tears or something.

Click to expand...

^^This

Anything that drops from monsters should be non-usable directly, but yes-usable with the help of a craftsman.

Not a bad read, but I am completely at ends with this system here. Having no skill cap, even with a one character per server rule-set, creates a very bland end game. An example of this would be WoW; look at the percentage of max level characters to non-maxed ones -- it's over 50% of the population. Players are consistently leveling their character on a day by day basis, and eventually, they will plateau. Albeit it will be much longer with no skill cap in place, it ultimately will create a homogenized world where a decent portion knows everything from magery to arms combat to cooking -- this was one of the bigger downfalls of Darkfall. I am of the opinion that we need a skill cap system in place to govern players and maintain diversity, and not have everyone be the same super-human being at the end game.

That being said, however, I am in favor of a "secondary skill" system, which would accommodate "less important" skills such as begging, and spirit speak as you mentioned in your post. This sector of skills wouldn't obey the skill-cap at all, and any player may raise it up to the max level without any repercussions should they choose to do so. Although I believe the tracking skill was an utter travesty in Ultima Online -- we really should make it a more interesting, vital concept to URPG.​

"Nice comment, and I do agree with what you are saying about maintaining diversity and not having everyone be a super human soloist. What I'm trying to get at with this kind of system however is that RG has expressed his interest in the "sandbox" feeling of a game where everyone plays together without having the feeling of, "I'm new and can't do anything close to what someone who has been playing for 10+ years can do." and when we start talking in terms of "end game" mechanics we are are typically talking about someone who has obtained gear and skill sets that are so drastically powerful to what we had access to when we first started playing in the world. UO did a great job of not giving the "end game" feeling back in the day because even though items gave benefits for using/equipping them, they were mild bonuses, and using an item worked with a corresponding skill. As well as skills on their own could do very little without the use of items and gear no matter what skill level you had. Items were simple, and for the most part, easy to come by, and skills were, for the most part, only useful with items. This is why I also stress the simplicity aspect of the game, and staying away from over polished/powerful items that plague modern day MMOs.

I think a skill system can be created to allow a focused character path that doesn't give them access to being a "Jack of all" while at the same time lets the character grow in multiple paths to accommodate the capability of taking a break from a set path, and enjoying other aspects of the game such as treasure hunting, farming, crafting, animal handling, thieving, and so on. I made a comment about it earlier, where a lot of people talk of playing a game from the perspective of the game ultimately being about combat in adventuring, and that's just not the aspect behind the sandbox effect. In a sandbox you are allowed to do anything you want. There is an aspect of freedom in choice with very limited restraints. You could almost compare RG's directions with that of the founding fathers of our nation. Freedom and liberty for all, compared to where we are today with the modern day MMO. Everyone craves the aspect of the original because they knew how much freedom it gave them before EA stepped in and became the modern day Department of Homeland Security, with FEMA camps popping up all around us, and big sister watching everything you're doing.

My last comment about a semi capless skill system is this. It makes very little sense to be a gunsmith in modern society today and not have any level of understanding as to how to land a bullet on target in a wide variety of situations. Just as a blacksmith should not be making competent arms and armor without having used those gears as well to know how they are properly made/function."

*With this being said I think it's very plausible and realistic of an idea to have players being able to access multiple professions/play styles without giving the feeling of everyone being super powerful and knowing how to do everything with no need of reliance on the community.*

Stratics is the oldest continually running MMORPG Fansite on the Internet. Founded in 1997 Stratics has served the Ultima Online Community for 18 years. We strive to provide the most complete social experience for Ultima Online players.